Wire clothespin



1949- I A. L. ATKINS 7 2,477,920

" WIRE CLOTHESPIN I Filed Jan. 28, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

al fe o L @ijl 5% BY 0? wit Patented Aug. 2, 1949 f Allen L. Atkins,Qhicagoplll."

samehaveto be spreadagainst opposition offered 7 testis sp e di -birthsre i c o a d legs. i

whe e n th n is dap d o b co od ed after having been movedthereto,aandthe pin being iso constructed that. when-the line has reached the lineloop, the [arms can move towards one anotherthereby locking the line intheloop.

' ."Tlie principal object of the'invention lies inthe provisionoffnovelmeans for fastening the loops .l l 3 ld he n to ether.

Another object of the invention is to form a clothes pin out of a. 'p air of loops nested one within the other and fastened together at one endthereof in amovel mannersozthat the opposite end are free and resistspreading.

-' Still another 'object'of theinventiorfis to provide a novel end piecefor holding the pin in as-' sembly. Q5171; .3 I

With the foregoing andother objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certainnovel features ofconstruction, arrangement and'la combination of parts hereinafter'fullydescribed, illustrated'in the accompanying "drawings, "and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion, size and minor details of thestructuremay be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I haveillustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof,from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with thefollowing description, my invention, its mode of construction, assemblyand operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understoodand appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a clothes pin embodying my newinvention and showing the parts thereof prior to assembly.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the clothes pin of Fig. 1 inassembled condition.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the clothes pin of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the clothes pin similar to that ofFig. 3 but showing the manner in which same is associated with a clothesline.

Referringtnow to the figures, the reference character J0 refersgenerally tothe preferred embodiment of my invention; Same is shown toconsist oftwo looped legs II and I2 nested one within the other. Forthis purpose the looped leg l2 isl of smaller diameter than the leg :lllThese ,legs are formed of resilient wire andrare arrangedfinthe sameplane byreason of their nesting, as will be noted by reference .to Thelegs II and IZhave their free. ends rounded as shown at I t, and I5andsaid rounded ends are bent away one from the other to thereby form aV-shaped entrance to the pines shown at .16. Theoppos-ite ends of eachof the legs li and l2 are adapted to be permanently attached one to theother. For this purpose eachis provided with squared abutting ends [land18 respective; ly'inwardly bentjfrom theirsides which pre the necessaryspacing of. the loopslj'; These ,ends are fixed within an end piece I9'whichljensheaths Sal-( 6 andgives a neat appearance tofthe pinThecenter of the end piece. betwleenfthe' V of the center loopis-pinched together" as shown at 20 and the top of the end piece isrounded over the "abutting endsll as at-2l wherebythe end piece isrigidly and cleanly attachedto the'loo'ps. The end piece ispreferablyformed ofa'section of flattened tubing as shown in Fig. 1whichis slipped'over the assembledflends of the loops 1H and I2 andstamped into the formation just described. By this novel structure theoperation of forming the end piece I 9j onth'e clothes pin l0 can bedone in one stroke.

Each of the sides of the two legs II and I2, is provided intermediateits ends with a rounded loop or bight, all being at the same positionalong the pin. Said loops are shown at 22 and 23. The loops 22 on theleg II are bent from the sides in semi-circular formation in planes atright angles to the plane defined by the sides of the leg H, and on thesame side of the leg I l as the bent end portion [4. Similarly the loops23 are formed as semi-circular offset bends in the sides of the leg I2,in planes perpendicular to the plane of the sides of the leg [2 and inthe same direction as the bent portion Hi.

The semi-circular loops 22 and 23 cooperate to form a substantiallycircular space 24 on each edge of the clothes pin l0, said spaces 24being aligned for the accommodation therein of the clothes line.

The clothes pin is used in the conventional manner for clamping anarticle of cloth 25 to a clothes line 26. The operation of the device isas follows: 7

After the cloth member 25 has been draped on the line 26, the clothespin Ill is grasped in the hand by pinching the end portion I9 betweenthe fingers. This leaves the legs II and I2 free to bend. The clothespin in is poised with the V- 3 shaped space l6 above the line 26, andmoved downwardly so that the line 26 and cloth enter said V-shapedentrance space. The pressure upon the pin l0 causes the line 26 tospread the legs l2 and I I one from the other in the directions in whichthe bent portions l4 and I5 extend. This movement is opposed by theresilience of the legs H and I2. As the line 26 passes the apex of theV-shaped entrance space I6 it enters between the sides of the legs IIand I2 prior to entering the space 24. As the pin I0 is further pushedhome, the line finally enters said space and, since the pressure uponthe sides is partially relieved, the legs II and I2 partially close uponthe line 26 and the cloth member 25 until the line loops 22 and .223engage same. This confining action serves to substantially lock theclothes pin I 0 upon the line 26 in a manner in which the clothes pinwill not readily be removed other than by pulling same off the line.

The structure above described is such that the clothes are at no timesubject to being pinched or torn by reason of shearing action betweenmetal edges. The wire used may be of a non-corrosive type to keep theclothes and line clean.

It, is believed that my invention, its mode of construction andassembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood fromthe foregoing without further description, and it should also 'bemanifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has beenshown and described for illustrative purposes, thestructural details arenevertheless capable of wide varia-- tion within the purview of myinvention as defined inthe appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. A clothes pin comprising a pair of legs fastened together at one endand each having diverging portions at the opposite end thereof, saidlegs being formed .of nested elongated resilient wire loops each havingtwo sides and adapted to spread when a clothes line is moved betweensaid diverging portions and forced between said loops towards thefastened end, there being a space formed by thelegs and intermediate theends to accommodate the line and lock said pin there- 4 onto when saidline has been moved along the legs between the loops to said space andthereinto, said fastened ends each being provided with squared abuttingextensionsbent at righ angles from each side of eachloop for maintainingthe spacing between the sides of the respective loops,

and a fiat tubular member completely enclosing said abutting extensionsof said loops on all sides thereof, said tubular member having a pinchclosing off the same, and the inner end portion of the tubular memberextending down the nested loops beyond the abutting extensions andhaving a pinch between the sides of the inner loop and adjacent theextensions of the inner loop.

2. An end fastening member for a wire clothespin which is formed or apair of nested loops of wire fastened together at their open ends "andfree to spread at their closed ends, the fastening member adapted to beinstalled in one stroke of a. crimping mechanism, the loops each havingtwo wire sides, the fastened extremities of each side being bent atright angles inwardly towards its mate; said member comprising a flattube engaged upon all of said inwardly bent extremities, having roundededges, a closed, smooth-jointed pinch on its outer end, and an inwardlydeformed pinch upon its inner end, saidqlatter pinch being disposedbetween the inner wire sides and adjacent said inwardly bent right angleextremities of said inner wire sides whereby said member completelyconfines all of said inwardly bent extremities.

ALLEN L. ATKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

